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Meatheads Burgers & Fries

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Meatheads Burgers & Fries, LLC
Company typeFast casual restaurant
IndustryFast casual
Founded2007; 17 years ago (2007) in Bloomington, Illinois
FounderTom Jednorowicz
Doug Reichl
Defunct2024
SuccessorEpic Burger
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
United States
Number of locations
0 (2024)
ParentEpic Burger
Websitewww.meatheadsburgers.com

Meatheads Burgers & Fries (commonly referred to as Meatheads) was an American fast-casual retailer of high-end hamburgers and other related menu items based in Illinois.

The company was founded by Tom Jednorowicz, formerly an executive at Potbelly Sandwich Works and Einstein Bros. Bagels,[1][2] and Doug Reichl, founder of Tartan Realty Group.[3] Meatheads started in Bloomington, Illinois in 2007[4][5] and became a popular spot among students of Illinois State University and the popular young crowd. The company went on to open fourteen more locations in the Chicago area, first entering that market in 2009.[6][7][8] As of October 2016, 17 locations were in operation, one of which was in Champaign, Illinois near the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign campus.

Among a growing number of specialty burger chains in the United States,[9] Meatheads attempted to differentiate from its competition such as Five Guys and Smashburger by cutting a customer's fries in front of them, similar to west-coast based In-N-Out Burger. Meatheads described itself as a "fast-casual" chain as opposed to a traditional fast-food chain.

With reported annual sales in 2011 of approximately $5 million, the chain was solely composed of company-owned stores, and never implemented a franchise model.[10] In 2019, the partners sold the company to Crave Brands, LLC.[11]

On April 9, 2021, Meatheads Burgers & Fries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The chain's parent company, Crave Brands LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection the same day.[12] In September 2023, Epic Burger acquired the remaining six Meatheads locations and began the process of converting them to Epic Burger,[13] starting with the Northbrook location.[14] As of July 2024, only two locations remained, and were later replaced as well.[15][16]

References

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  1. ^ "Burger Joint Serves Up Fries, Milkshakes And Acts of Kindness". 13 March 2011.
  2. ^ "Meatheads Burgers and Fries paces itself for steady growth". 16 November 2009.
  3. ^ "Meatheads, lender LQD Financial Corp. Resolve bankruptcy dispute". 16 April 2021.
  4. ^ "Meat Heads keeps it simple". 20 December 2007.
  5. ^ "Meatheads' Tom Jednorowicz on Hiring Trends in the Food Biz". 6 November 2012.
  6. ^ "First Friday Burger & Fries". Archived from the original on 2013-07-07.
  7. ^ "Meatheads Burgers & Fries Headed to Roscoe Village". 15 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Meatheads finally opens in Chicago".
  9. ^ "Hungry Americans crave bigger, better burger joints". 12 July 2010.
  10. ^ "Franchise? No thanks: These firms prefer to fly solo".
  11. ^ "Fast-casual chain Meatheads declares bankruptcy".
  12. ^ "This Beloved Local Burger Chain Just Filed for Bankruptcy". 14 April 2021.
  13. ^ "Epic Burger In Chicago Taking Over Another Burger Chain". Forbes.
  14. ^ "Hello, Northbrook: Epic Burger Opens New Location In CEO's Hometown". 15 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Locations - Meatheads® Burgers".
  16. ^ "Champaign's Meatheads transforms into Epic Burger". 5 September 2024.
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